Two films earned jury recognition at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, and both deserve a closer look. Zejtune, a Malta-Germany-Qatar co-production directed by Alex Camilleri, won the Best Screenplay Award in the International Narrative Feature competition. The Siege of Paradise, an Ireland-Switzerland documentary directed by Gar O’Rourke, received a Special Jury Mention for Best Cinematography in the Documentary Feature competition. The Tribeca Festival 2026 awards Zejtune Siege of Paradise recognition highlights 2 distinctly original films that resonated deeply with the festival jury.
Zejtune wins Best Screenplay in International Narrative Competition
Zejtune made its North American premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival and left with one of the competition’s top honors. The film runs 108 minutes and is performed entirely in Maltese, marking it as a rare and culturally specific entry in an international competition field.
The story follows a woman named Mar, who returns to Malta after her estranged mother’s death. She inherits farmland and plans to sell it and leave the island behind for good. As she travels Malta to settle the estate, she crosses paths with Nenu an 80-year-old folk singer full of life and spirit. Their unexpected connection slowly changes how Mar feels about the homeland she had decided to abandon. As a result, the film builds into something both intimate and quietly profound, rooted in landscape, memory and the pull of cultural identity.
Alex Camilleri directs from an original screenplay. The film is a production of Noruz Films, Pellikola and Solari Productions, co-produced with One Two Films. Producers include Oliver Mallia, Ramin Bahrani and Alex Camilleri. Furthermore, Films Boutique handles international sales for the project.
The Siege of Paradise earns Special Jury Mention for Best Cinematography
The Siege of Paradise had its world premiere at Tribeca 2026. It also served as an official selection of DC/DOX 2026. The 82-minute documentary is a co-production between Ireland and Switzerland and is presented in both Italian and English.
The film takes place in Cinque Terre, the beloved coastal region of Italy’s northern Riviera. In an average summer, fewer than 3,000 local residents share their home with more than 4 million tourists. Across one chaotic season, the documentary follows 6 very different lives unfolding in parallel. Together, those stories create a sharply funny and surprisingly tender portrait of a paradise that is buckling under the pressure of social media-driven mass tourism. The jury singled out its cinematography specifically a recognition that speaks to how powerfully the film captures the visual tension between the beauty of Cinque Terre and the chaos that surrounds it each season.
Gar O’Rourke directs the film. Venom Films and Dynamic Frame produce it, with Andrew Freedman, Ken Wardrop and Jessie Hayden serving as producers. Additionally, MetFilm Sales handles international distribution for the project.
Why these wins matter
Both awards reflect the Tribeca Festival’s ongoing commitment to elevating films that tell stories from specific places and communities. Zejtune brings Maltese language and landscape to a North American audience for the first time. The Siege of Paradise offers a documentary perspective on over-tourism that feels both timely and universal. Neither film follows a conventional path. Instead, each one finds something essential and human within a very particular context.
For the creative teams behind both productions, the recognition at one of North America’s most respected film festivals provides significant momentum as both films move through the international marketplace. Zejtune and The Siege of Paradise now carry Tribeca awards into their next chapter.
Source: TAKA PR / Tribeca Festival 2026
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